Difficult Bible Questions
January 21, 2018
taught by Ken McGarvey
First Baptist Church of Tellico Village, Tennessee
Prayer — We are commanded to pray, and the Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” (KJV) and other passages, yet many/most of our prayers go unanswered or answered, “no.” We are commanded to pray “in God’s will.” This seems to make “our” prayers meaningless.
What Is Prayer?
Prayer is simply talking openly with our heavenly papa. Telling him of our love for him. Asking him in behalf of those who need his intervention. Thanking him for what we have and asking him for what we need. Expressing to him our total trust in and commitment to him. Asking for forgiveness for our moments of weakness and/or rebellion. Asking for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
However, prayer is so profound we’ll never totally understand it. What does it meant to pray in Jesus’ name? How about those who pray “in thy name” or “in your name”? — what could that possibly mean? Does God have two wills for us — primary and secondary, or permissive will? Once we have acted outside of his will and have had life-changing experiences, does he change his will for us, or can we never get back into it? Since Jesus is the son of God, and had perfect understanding, why did he need to pray? What did he and the Father talk about when he prayed?
Some Principles of Prayer
First and foremost, we must remember that he is God and we are not. We are not telling God what he must do, but are his servants reporting for duty. We are his children, his very young children, who cannot possibly know the depths of his thinking, planning will for our lives. We want what is best for us, but only God is in a position to know what is actually best.
A five-year-old child does not want inoculations because they hurt, they cause pain. The parents provide that inoculation because the long-term benefits far outweigh the momentary pain. Even so, we cannot possibly know the long-term (eternal) best for us, and dare not presume so.
The idea of telling God what he must do for us is preposterous, offensive on every level. Quoting scripture to God in an effort to get him to do what we want is presumptuous, and must be avoided. There are people, leaders and groups who urge us to do just that, but it is wrong.
We are not praying to a reluctant God to get him to do what we want; we are praying to a loving God, willing to do what he wants. We are talking to him, telling him what is on our minds, relating our desires, but yielding to what only he knows is best for us. How could we possibly know what is best in his mind. We need wisdom more than knowledge. After all, praying is about relationships — primarily our relationship with God. We aren’t telling him things he doesn’t know.
When husband and wife talk together it’s not just asking and receiving — it’s communicating love, emotions, information. If they only talk to ask for something, it’s a pretty shallow relationship. They express love and other emotions, and we must do so with God as well.
When God does not listen
We must remember that the scriptures tell us many times of prayers that are not listened to by God, or at least not respected and answered. Here are a few:
- The wicked: (Proverbs 15:29) The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
- The violent: (Isaiah 1:15) When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood;
- Those living in sin: (Isaiah 59:1-2) Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
- Those with sin in their hearts: (Psalms 66:18) If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
- Those who oppress the poor: (Proverbs 21:13) If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
- Husbands who do not treat their wives right: (1 Peter 3:7) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
- Those who pray with wrong motives: (James 4:3) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
- Prayers that come from vanity: (Job 35:13) Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.
- Prayers without faith: (James 1:6-7) But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
- Prayers not according to God’s will: (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
- God gives the best gifts to those who leave the choice with him: (Ephesians 3:20) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
Should we be discouraged?
I think not. If we could manipulate God into giving us what we want, how could that possibly be good? Should not the creator of the universe and the savior of the world know better that we what is best? That is most encouraging.
So then, does prayer change things?
Yes it does. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. And he encourages the church at Ephesus, saying, And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)
When we pray, particularly when a group of people pray for the same thing, God is praised, those who pray are drawn closer to God, and what they ask for is often granted, for the benefit of those being prayed for and for the glory of God himself. He longs for us to pour out our hearts to him; he longs for us to care for one another and to pray for one another.
I think effective prayer may sometimes seem similar to an engaged couple conversing in a restaurant. There are discussions of details of things happening, expressions of love, and mostly just the enjoyment of being together with the one they love. Other times it may be more like a discussion between teenagers and their parents, with opinions on life discussed, the experience of parents speaking lovingly while directing and guiding their children toward a successful adulthood.
Jesus instructs us in 1 John, This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5, 14-15) I think this aligns with the Old Testament where the psalmist says, Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) It doesn’t mean if we’re good God will give us whatever we want; it means when our life is aligned with the will of God our hearts’ desires will be what God knows is best for us. And we will be content.
God wants us to pray. He longs for us to long for him. He is thrilled when we take time to spend with him in prayer. Although through prayer God may work miracles, the most important result of our faithful prayers is that God changes us. He makes us more like him, gives us the attitudes of Christ, takes our minds off ourselves and onto the lives of others. We begin with thankfulness (Philippians 4:6) and progress to praise, worship, confession, commitment and intercession. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Back to the initial question. If we pray for God’s will, does that make “our” requests meaningless? If we are not willing to let God be the Lord of our lives, why are we praying? If we do not submit our will to God, is he really our Lord? As intelligent, educated human beings we are used to being right, used to knowing what we need. We expect God to agree with us. When God says, “No,” it must mean he does not agree with us. Is that the direction we want to go?
When Jesus spoke it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, I don’t think it’s because God doesn’t love rich people. It simply means that people who have achieved some degree of success in life — financial, educational, military, business, ministry or other area — tend to find it difficult to submit themselves to another power, even if it’s the God of the universe.
If our prayers are not answered in the way we expected, we should still rejoice and thank God for considering our request before determining it wasn’t his chosen way. The 106th Psalm describes the Israelites when they were in the wilderness, They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul. (Psalm 106:13-15)
In 2 Kings 20 we read of King Hezekiah, a godly king of Judah. He was very sick, and the prophet Isaiah came to him and told him to get his things in order, as he was going to die. Hezekiah pleaded with God to let him live, and God did so. He said he would give Hezekiah another 15 years of life, which he did. When he died, his 12-year-old son took over the kingdom, and was one of the most wicked kings of Judah. Yes, he was born during those extra 15 years of life. Sometimes we may not really want what we are asking for.
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